Ode to Something More
by jaxink
Summary: G1: Gathering his courage, Prowl glanced once more at the destruction and devastation all around him. "I want to help." With a heartfelt smile, Prime said, "Welcome aboard." -twoshot-
1. Ode to Something More

Disclaimer: Don't own Transformers...sad.

_A/N: A short piece I wrote a few weeks ago and posted on LJ. Just getting it up over here. Also, there's a companion piece to this one, which will be added shortly after this is posted._

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**Ode to Something More**

"Prowl?"

"…"

"Prowler?"

"Hm?"

"Prowl, are ya really payin' attention, or didja only say 'hm' ta get me ta stop pesterin' ya?" Jazz asked, his elbows resting upon his knees while seated on their shared berth.

Letting loose a cycle of air, Prowl looked up from the data pad in his grasp. "Yes, Jazz, I'm listening."

Satisfied he had the Datsun's full attention, the saboteur perked up a bit. He paused, deciding the best way to form his question for his bondmate. Going with the direct approach, Jazz asked, "Why'd ya join the Autobots?"

That question caught the tactician by surprise and sent his processors whirring. "Pardon?"

"Why'd ya join the Autobots? 'Cause the 'Cons destroyed Praxus? 'Cause we're the 'good' guys, as the humans would say? Why the Autobots?"

The taller black and white mech truly didn't know what to say. It was something the pair had never discussed. They had both already been among the Autobot ranks when they met one another. Still, they had never explored their personal motives for enlisting.

Turning around in his chair to fully face the Porsche, he gently placed the data pad on the desk for later. Prowl frowned softly. "There are many reasons. Partly because some of the things you said, but it was a rather…difficult time for me when I decided to join. I'm not sure if I could explain it to anyone."

Jazz pouted. "Even me, love?"

Smiling wryly in return, he said, "Yes, even you."

Placing his arms behind his head, Jazz leaned back to lay across the spacious berth. He focused on the ceiling above him. "S'okay, Prowler. Ya don't hafta try ta explain it to me."

Not feeling as if this conversation should end with that, the second-in-command let his chin rest upon his forearms folded on the top of the chair. "What about you, Jazz? Why did you join the Autobot faction?"

Chuckling at having sparked his mate's interest, the saboteur turned on his side to face Prowl once more. "'Side the obvious reason that it was the right thing ta do?"

"Yes, beside that."

"As the first stirrings of unrest came around back on Cybertron, I didn't know what ta think. Before I knew it, mechs and femmes I'd known all my life were choosin' sides, pledgin' alliances ta causes I wasn't sure I understood or believed in."

Prowl nodded in understanding. "I know what you mean. My creators wanted nothing to do with the dividing factions, declaring their affairs to be trivial. They insisted we remain neutral—thinking it was just a phase."

"I wish it had jus' been a phase," Jazz muttered sullenly, glaring at the floor.

"I wish that as well."

After a few minutes of shared silence, Jazz found his voice to continue. "I dunno, I felt like I was one of the only neutrals left in Iacon as time went on. Then there was a rally of sorts to attract Autobot recruits. My friend convinced me ta go with him."

"Who was it, if I may ask?"

Jazz smiled. "It was Blaster, actually. We met on the music scene long before the war. He told me to come to the rally 'cause the leader of the Autobots was gonna be there givin' a speech o' sorts to raise interest and morale." With a small pause, Prowl could hear the emotion creeping into Jazz's vocalizer as he described the event. "Prowl, as soon as I heard Prime talk about what the Autobots stood for in this war—the freedom of individuals, the right ta choose for themselves—I jus' knew I had ta join right then and there. And as the humans say, the rest is history."

Stretching his arms above his head, the saboteur rolled back onto his back. "Prime has a way with words, doesn't he?"

"I suppose, yes, considering I wrote that speech for him."

The saboteur bolted upright, his expression dumbfounded. "What?"

The Datsun shrugged. "I had already been enlisted for quite some time when we had that rally. And it's not a big deal, Jazz, they were, and still are, Prime's ideals, just my words."

"Still," Jazz insisted, throwing his arms into the air. "That speech is what inspired me ta join. Your words changed my life, Prowler. It convinced me that this was a cause worth dyin' for."

Prowl shuttered his optics, shaking his head at his bondmate's comments. Turning his optics on once more, he softly said, "I'd have to disagree with that sentiment, Jazz."

The third-in-command looked at the police cruiser's face intently, not sure if he had heard him correctly. "Did I hear ya right? You don't think this is a cause worth dyin' for? But Prowl, how can ya say—"

Standing up abruptly, Prowl cut off his sentence. Twitching his door wings with mild amusement, he grasped his mate's face in his hands, bent down and placed a chaste kiss upon his brow. "No, Jazz…it's something more than that. It's a cause worth _living_ for."

Blinking his optics behind his visor, the Porsche recognized the difference in wording. With a smile, he pulled the tactician in for a deep kiss. "I think you're right, Prowler. A cause worth livin' for. And you have a way with words, no matter what ya say."


	2. I'll Try

Disclaimer: Don't own Transformers...sad.

_A/N: This is a companion piece to **Ode to Something More**. It was inspired by the song "I'll Try" by Jonatha Brooke. Unfortunately, can't post the lyrics with the story as I would like to, thanks to this site's "songfic" policies. Look up the lyrics if you're interested in knowing what they are. Anyway, this would also be considered AU. This fic is meant to explain how/why Prowl joined the Autobots, essentially the tale he wasn't able to tell Jazz._

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**I'll Try**

A young tactician stood on the outskirts of the decimated ruins of the once-proud Praxus. The city had crumbled under the devastating Decepticon attacks. His home…it was gone. The once beautiful Helix Gardens…nothing. Everything he'd ever known; everything he'd ever held dear…everyone he'd ever loved. Prowl had been at the Academy in Iacon when the attacks took place. He had been safe, while others…innocent mechs, femmes, younglings, and sparklings…had suffered. And for what? That fraggin' civil war! The Autobots and the Decepticons were tearing their world apart.

From the formation of each faction, Prowl's creators had been adamant that he remain in school and ignore the bickering of the factions. They said it would pass. They said it would be resolved in no time at all…possibly a vorn, at the longest. Praxus, for the most part, was a neutral city. It was so early in this conflict. Where was the reasoning and logic in this attack? What had these civilians done to the Decepticons to earn such a fate?

Prowl fought back a wave of despair as it tried to overtake his processors. His battle computer and logical programming raged against the weakness and sadness his felt. What would his superiors in the Academy say if they found him like this? He wasn't a youngling anymore! He hadn't been for a long time now…

Around him, he saw neutrals and Autobots helping with the recovery efforts, but there was no one to save. Not too far from his current position, he saw a large, looming mech speaking to the few refugees that had managed to escape the brunt of the attacks. He was spouting words of encouragement, with great conviction, urging them to fight past the tragedy the Decepticons had wrought upon them. Prowl turned his audios away from the hopeful words. How could such uplifting words be true in such a time of despair?

Sparkling nonsense.

The young tactician moved to leave the wreckage behind him, but all the same, he couldn't help but foolishly wish he could believe the tall Autobot's words as they rang out across the landscape.

Impossible. How could the Autobots hope for a world where mechs never warred? Never disagreed? As long as there was greed and power, there would always be hate, struggles, and suffering…

Feeling the emotions he was suppressing attempt to overwhelm him once more, Prowl couldn't stay a moment longer. He couldn't see his home in such a state, as fallen structures still smoked in the darkening horizon. What would he do next? Go back to the Academy, as his parents would have wanted? Why? What was left for him? The only thing behind him was death.

The black and white mech paused in his trudging away from the gruesome, depressing sight of the fallen city as a hand grasped his shoulder. Fluttering his door wings in surprise, Prowl spun around to face the tall mech—the Autobot who had been comforting the other neutrals. Hopelessly spouting words of faith, perseverance, and strength. The young tactician glared at the ground, upset with the restraining hand on his shoulder.

"What do you want?" he managed to whisper.

"This isn't the end, my young friend. It's an opportunity," the blue and red mech said.

Prowl felt his frame begin to shake. "An opportunity for what? For the Decepticons to move on to other innocent cities and kill all their inhabitants?"

"No. An opportunity to make sure it doesn't happen again," he replied.

"But what if we can't change the way this conflict is headed? What if it's already too late?" Prowl murmured, staring into understanding blue optics.

The mech let a cycle of air escape his vents. "It's never too late. Not when there are still so many with hope and courage to see this war to its end. Think about it."

And with that, the blue and red mech left Prowl to his own thoughts, moving to rejoin his Autobot comrades in the distance.

Shuttering his optics, Prowl's processors furiously worked to comprehend his words. Something told him to take them to his spark…to really contemplate them. There had to be something more…something he could do. As the other mech had said, as long as there were mechs to fight against such tyranny and hate…hope, love…even peace…might be able to survive.

Feeling his spark pounding within its casing, Prowl turned back on his optics. He frantically glanced around for the large blue and red Autobot. They were getting ready to transform and leave…

"Wait! Please, wait!" Prowl shouted desperately, chasing after them.

The Autobot unit paused at the cries. A red mech moved to stand in between Prowl and the taller Autobot as the tactician approached.

"What do ya want?" the red mech asked gruffly.

"Ironhide, stand down."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it, Prime," Ironhide muttered, moving off to the side.

Prowl paused in a moment of realization. "You're Optimus Prime? Leader of the Autobots?"

Optimus retracted his battle mask. "Yes, I am. What did you want to say?"

Gathering his courage, Prowl glanced once more at the destruction and devastation all around him. "I want to help."

With a heartfelt smile, Prime said, "Welcome aboard."


End file.
